Monday, Jan 23, 2012
By Jay Solomon
Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
WASHINGTON--The Obama administration on Monday sanctioned Iran's third-largest bank, Bank Tejarat, closing off one of Tehran's only remaining conduits for trade with the Western world.
The U.S. Treasury Department's action follows President Barack Obama's move last month to ban any American dealings with Iran's central bank. And it follows an agreement by the European Union earlier Monday to ban all purchases of Iranian oil.
The Treasury's sanctioning of Bank Tejarat marks the 23rd Iranian-linked financial institution blacklisted by the U.S. since 2006. The list includes all of Iran's largest state-owned banks.
Treasury officials said they sanctioned Bank Tejarat for its alleged role in financing Iran's nuclear program and for assisting other designated Iranian banks and companies in evading international sanctions.
(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal website, WSJ.com.)
The Treasury specifically charged Bank Tejarat with assisting Iran's Atomic Energy Organization with trying to procure uranium from the international market last year.
"Today's action against Bank Tejarat strikes at one of Iran's few remaining access points to the international financial system," Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said in a statement.
Treasury also sanctioned Bank Tejarat's subsidiary, Trade Capital Bank, which is based in Minsk, Belarus.
-By Jay Solomon, The Wall Street Journal
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
23-01-12 1857GMT
